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U.S. Statistics

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Fast Facts

More than 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV today, but 1 in 7 of them don’t know it.

An estimated 37,600 Americans became newly infected with HIV in 2014.

From 2008 to 2014, the estimated number of annual HIV infections in the U.S. declined 18%.

In 2016, 39,782 people were diagnosed with HIV in the U.S.

Gay and bisexual men, particularly young African American gay and bisexual men, are most affected.

Southern states bear the greatest burden of HIV, accounting for 50% of new infections in 2014.

In the jurisdictions where they could be estimateda, annual infections in all states decreased or remained stable from 2008-2014.

Estimated New HIV Infections

According to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 37,600 people became newly infected with HIV in the United States in 2014. Encouragingly, the estimated number of annual HIV infections in the U.S. declined 18% between 2008-2014 (from 45,700 to 37,600). Reductions were seen in most risk groups and in all states where data were available. Even greater reductions were observed among people who inject drugs (56% reduction) and heterosexual men and women (36%). Gay and bisexual menb were the only group that did not experience an overall decline in annual HIV infections from 2008 to 2014. This is because reduced infections among whites (18%) and the youngest gay and bisexual men (18%) were offset by increases in other groups. Annual infections remained stable at about 26,000 per year among gay and bisexual men overall and about 10,000 infections per year among black gay and bisexual men — a hopeful sign after more than a decade of increases in these populations. However, concerning trends emerged among gay and bisexual males of certain ages and ethnicities, with annual infections increasing: 35% among 25- to 34-year-old gay and bisexual males (from 7,200 to 9,700) and 20% among Latino gay and bisexual males (from 6,100 to 7,300).

HIV Diagnosesc

In 2016, 39,782 people were diagnosed with HIV infection in the United States. The annual number of new HIV diagnoses fell 5% from 2011 to 2015. Because HIV testing has remained stable or increased in recent years, this decrease in diagnoses suggests a true decline in new infections. The decrease may be due to targeted HIV prevention efforts. However, progress has been uneven, and diagnoses have increased among a few groups.

Gay and bisexual men are the population most affected by HIV. In 2016d:

Gay and bisexual men accounted for 67% (26,570) of all diagnoses and 83% of HIV diagnoses among males.

Black/African Americane gay and bisexual men accounted for the largest number of HIV diagnoses (10,223), followed by Hispanic/Latino (7,425) and white (7,390) gay and bisexual men.

Among all gay and bisexual men, trends have varied by race and over time. From 2011 to 2015:

Among white gay and bisexual men, diagnoses decreased 10%.

Among Hispanic/Latinof gay and bisexual men, diagnoses increased 14%.

Among African American gay and bisexual men, diagnoses increased 4%.

After years of sharp increases, diagnoses among young African American gay and bisexual men (aged 13-24) stayed about the same.

Heterosexuals and people who inject drugs also continue to be affected by HIV. In 2016:

Heterosexual contact accounted for 24% (9,578) of HIV diagnoses.

Women accounted for 19% (7,529) of HIV diagnoses. Diagnoses among women are primarily attributed to heterosexual contact (87%, or 6,541) or injection drug use (12%, or 939).

People who inject drugs accounted for 9% (3,425) of HIV diagnoses (includes 1,201 diagnoses among gay and bisexual men who inject drugs).

From 2011 to 2015:

Diagnoses among all women declined 16%.

Among all heterosexuals, diagnoses declined 15%, and among people who inject drugs, diagnoses declined 17%.

By race/ethnicity, African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos are disproportionately affected by HIV. In 2016:

African Americans represented 12% of the U.S. population, but accounted for 44% (17,528) of HIV diagnoses. African Americans have the highest rate of HIV diagnoses compared to other races and ethnicities.

Hispanics/Latinos represented about 18% of the U.S. population, but accounted for 25% (9,766) of HIV diagnoses.

New HIV Diagnoses in the United States for the Most-Affected Subpopulations, 2016

The burden of HIV and AIDS is not evenly distributed geographically. The population rates (per 100,000 people) of persons who received an HIV diagnosis were highest in the South (16.8), followed by the Northeast (11.2), the West (10.2), and the Midwest (7.5).g The South generally is behind other regions in some key HIV prevention and care indicators.

Living With HIV

An estimated 1,122,900 adults and adolescents were living with HIV in the U.S. at the end of 2015.

Of those, 162,500 (15% or 1 in 7) had not received a diagnosis, so were unaware of their infection.

Young people were the most likely to be unaware of their infection. Among people aged 13-24 who were living with HIV, an estimated 44% didn’t know.

In 2014, among all adults and adolescents living with HIV (diagnosed or undiagnosed),

62% received some HIV medical care,

48% were retained in continuous HIV care, and

49% had achieved viral suppression (having a very low level of the virus).hA person living with HIV who takes HIV medicine as prescribed and gets and stays virally suppressed can stay healthy and has effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to HIV-negative partners.

AIDS Diagnoses and Deaths

In 2016, 18,160 people received an AIDS diagnosis. Since the epidemic began in the early 1980s, 1,232,246 people have received an AIDS diagnosis.

In 2014, there were 12,333 deaths (due to any cause) of people with diagnosed HIV infection ever classified as AIDS, and 6,721 deaths were attributed directly to HIV.

Notes

a 35 states and Washington, DC

b The terms men who have sex with men and male-to-male sexual contact are used in CDC surveillance systems. They indicate a behavior that transmits HIV infection, not how individuals self-identify in terms of their sexuality. This page uses the term gay and bisexual men to include gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, regardless of how they self-identify.

c HIV and AIDS diagnoses refer to the estimated number of people diagnosed with HIV infection, regardless of stage of disease at diagnosis, and AIDS during a given time period.

d These numbers include only diagnoses attributed to male-to-male sexual contact, not those attributed to injection drug use and male-to-male sexual contact.

h People are considered retained in care if they get two viral load or CD4 tests at least 3 months apart in a year. (CD4 cells are the cells in the body’s immune system that are destroyed by HIV.) Viral suppression (having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood) is based on the most recent viral load test.

Many Federal agencies have developed public awareness and education campaigns to address HIV prevention, treatment, care, and research. In this section, you’ll find a snapshot of these Federal HIV campaigns and links to help you access more information as well as campaign materials that you can use. Also included is information about campaigns related to the prevention and diagnosis of hepatitis B and C.

HIV.gov's Virtual Office Hours provides free social media technical assistance for the HIV community. Appointments are available for individuals or groups who want to learn how to best use social media for their HIV programs.